I returned to the world of the living, but there were still no signs of life in Robert’s still body. I was sure he was dead, lost to me in the realm and in life. I began to mourn once again.
“Don’t worry sweetie…he won’t be dead for long!” Elaina’s voice was saying.
I hadn’t seen her there in the chair when I returned. She surprised me. “What?” I asked to be sure of what she said.
She jumped out of the chair in one swift, impossible motion. “You didn’t think I’d let you have him, did you? No, he’d be better served as a vampire.”
“You actually turned him!”
“Of course! He does love me after all. I could use him in his new form. Dead…he’d be useless to everyone…except you of course!”
“How could you do that? It’s not what he wanted!”
“He’s the one that signed the request form. Now he’s all mine…”
Elaina continued, “You didn’t think I’d figure out what you were up to? I admit. it was very clever…taking him to the one place I couldn’t go and making him fall in love with you!”
“Oh…don’t think I didn’t hear him calling your name at night while he slept. Of course I knew what was going on…Janet may have wanted him dead, but there was no way I was giving you what you wanted.”
Her words made me snap. Without even considering the fact that it may not work, I reached out and slapped her across the face as hard as I could. To my surprise, my strike connected.
Elaina was as shocked as I was. “I never wanted him dead!” I screamed.
“How dare you!” Elaina said, furious and afraid of the idea that I was able to physically assault her.
“I never wanted him dead,” I repeated to reemphasize my point to her and to myself as I turned away to hide my shame.
“Well it doesn’t matter does it you crazy witch! He’s dead to you! He can never go to the realm again…I took his soul.”
Elaina began to laugh. “I’ve won! You never should have taken me on…I was destined to get him in the end.”
It was my turn to smile. I had one thing on my side that she didn’t know about and I just remembered it.
I laughed out loud with the arrogance of someone who knew they had outsmarted everyone else.
“What do you have to laugh about? It’s over! Just admit it! You gave it a good try, but it’s over now! Just leave!”
“Oh…it’s not over!”
“Whatever!” Elaina said walking past me toward the door. “I’ll see you in a few days when your beloved wakes up hating your very existence!”
“Elaina!” I taunted her with my voice as she tried to leave.
“What?!” She half yelled and half asked as she spun around to face me.
I responded by raising my hand high over my head; holding my newly created elixir tight.
This was my last chance; the last opportunity I had to be rid of Elaina once and for all.
To her dismay, I slammed the bottle down hard at her feet.
“What did you do? What was that?!” Elaina asked.
Nothing happened right away. Then warm blood suddenly began to flow into Elaina’s face; giving her flesh the healthy tint of the living.
“What’s happening? What the hell did you do?” She asked; obviously feeling the effects of the elixir. It was working just the way I wanted it to.
“You’re being cured sweetie…” I said in a sickinglysweet voice that I knew would drive her crazy.
Elaina didn’t immediately know what I meant. “Cured? What do you mean cured?” She asked as if she’d never heard the word before.
“Cured as in no longer a vampire…as in once again human,” I was happy to define for her.
I gave Elaina the time she needed to understand what it all implied.
Finally she got it. Her face went blank when she realized that she was no longer immortal…that she could actually be hurt and killed just like any other human.
“You spectral witch!” She screamed as she attacked me full on; taking me by surprise. I expected a reaction, but not this one.
Fueled by anger and perhaps hate; Elaina was able to slam me all the way down to the ground.
She slapped and kicked and pulled to no avail. I couldn’t feel a thing.
She was basically fighting herself and wearing herself out. All I had to do was hold her back…she did the rest.
She grabbed at me and at times was able to hold me into position. I allowed myself to disappear to the realm momentarily and was out of her grasp when I returned.
Fighting full force in a human body not nourished by human food did Elaina in. She became confused and weak. She swung a few times at the air as I stood behind her safely out of her reach.
“Oh no,” she said suddenly. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she said.
“That’s what a belly full of blood does to a human body,” I said softly behind her.
While Elaina worked hard to steady herself…I called the police. A car arrived within minutes once they knew that they were being called to the home of a fellow cop.
I guided a stunned, emaciated version of Elaina into a chair as the cop entered the house. To my relief, the cop was a fairy whose magical powers allowed her to see me clearly.
“What am I arresting her for?” The cop asked hesitating before doing anything.
I knew that a charge of attempted murder would never stick, because of the request form, so I didn’t mention Robert. Instead, I said the only thing I could think of…
“Ask Janet Pok, but you can start with trespassing,” I said walking away. After all, this was still my house and I never invited Elaina in.
Without anything real to arrest her on, the cop decided to take Elaina in for questioning.
I was confident that once Janet and Elaina were questioned; there would be plenty to keep them in jail.
A big problem was solved. Elaina couldn’t do much damage now that she was human. All that was left to do now was wait for Robert to wake up.
